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Based on biogenic reef research at Heriot-Watt University (HWU), nine Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) have been designated and established in the Northeast Atlantic, Caribbean and Eastern Pacific, and a further six are under consideration. These MPAs represent 10% of the Caribbean Sea area, 6% of the UK's inshore Special Areas of Conservation (SAC) and 18% of the MPAs under consideration in Scotland. In addition, our ecological assessments of the biodiversity value and structure of biogenic habitats, and their sensitivities to widespread stressors, stakeholder conflict assessment and economic assessments have underpinned the objectives, management measures and assessment of MPAs, and other marine spatial planning initiatives, undertaken in the context of both the current marine environmental conditions and future climate change trajectories.
Bangor Research since 1998 has pioneered, through experimental, comparative and modelling studies and industry collaborations, quantification of the wider ecosystem effects of fishing, specifically on seabed habitats. Novel findings gave policy and economic benefits to the fishing industry and led to the sustainable, continued profitable development of the UK's largest blue mussel fishery and Isle of Man scallop fishery, with a combined value of £22M. It directly led to Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification of these fisheries and underpinned certification of dozens of other demersal fisheries. Additionally, the research has influenced UK retailer policies on sustainable fish sourcing, providing direct environmental and commercial benefits and improving public knowledge and sustainable consumption.
Researchers at Plymouth University were the first to demonstrate the occurrence of microscopic plastic debris in the environment. Professor Thompson's team showed that `microplastic' particles had accumulated since the 1960s and are present in oceans worldwide. This case study describes the impacts from these findings and the subsequent research by the team which demonstrated that marine organisms could ingest and retain this material and that, upon ingestion, microplastics had the potential to release chemical contaminants. The research impacted on UK, European and American policy and contributed to a body of evidence which influenced companies to phase-out microplastics from their products.
In 2008-2009 the UK was subject to legal infraction proceedings at the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for allegedly failing to implement the European Union's Urban Waste-water Treatment Directive (UWWTD). Research by the Institute of Estuarine and Coastal Studies, Hull (IECS) for the Environment Agency (EA)/Defra provided evidence to the UK Government for its defence against these allegations. The research consisted of:
- literature/data reviews and collection and analysis of critical evidence from the Humber.
- co-ordinating workshops and convening an expert panel of sufficient authoritative academic opinion to counteract the European Court of Justice allegations.
In December 2009 the European Court of Justice ruled in favour of the UK. Our research therefore helped to save very significant, unnecessary capital investment in nutrient removal technology for sewage treatment nationally and in the Yorkshire and Humber region especially. The UK government thus avoided the possibility of major European Commission fines of up to €703,000 per day, or €256m per annum, for infraction of the Urban Water-water Treatment Directive [1].
Research carried out at Oxford University has helped demonstrate the extraordinary significance of a fossil site in Yunnan Province (China) for understanding evolution at the time of the Cambrian explosion. This research contributed to the site being proposed and, in 2012, designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site. An Oxford University researcher (Siveter) played an important part in this process, drawing on his research when writing the World-Heritage bid. Government policy for the Chengjiang area has now shifted away from phosphate mining to conservation, education and tourism, with the establishment of a Geopark and, in 2010, a Museum. Annual visitor numbers to the area are rising, already in the thousands, benefiting the regional economy. The Chengjiang site has been preserved for future generations to investigate and enjoy.
Research to quantify the ecological structure and spatial dynamics of terrestrial habitats in Northern Ireland (NI), and to assess the effects of recent land use change, has enabled the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) to develop and implement a science-based strategy for landscape-scale biodiversity management and conservation. It has directly facilitated the integration of NIEA and the Department of Agriculture for NI (DARD) biodiversity management strategies and their monitoring of the implementation of European Community biodiversity legislation (and cross-compliance).
The science information-base and time-series change models developed from the research have allowed NIEA to lead inter-governmental department discussion on biodiversity and land use issues. It has also guided the development of an NI habitat biodiversity management strategy. Specifically, the statistically structured field and analytical methods developed by the research for assessing terrestrial habitats at the regional landscape-scale have been adopted by NIEA as key to reporting on the biodiversity outcomes of implementing the European Community conservation Habitats Directive.
The research has provided a common ecological framework within which NIEA, DARD (including Forest Service) and non-government organisations (Ulster Wildlife Trust and Northern Ireland Environment Link) have been able to discuss and agree on biodiversity and agri-environment management practices in designated statutory conservation sites and the farmed countryside. It has also been key in guiding a NI assessment of the socio-economic value of habitats (ecosystem services).
York research on the responses of species to habitat fragmentation has led to a paradigm shift in the approach to conservation that has permeated non-governmental organisations (NGOs), governmental agencies and intergovernmental bodies; the traditional concept of protecting and managing populations of species in isolated reserves has largely been replaced by landscape-scale conservation strategies, which increase the long-term survival of species. This new approach is now accepted government policy and has altered practical land designation and management for conservation over millions of hectares in the UK, as well as affecting the strategies adopted by most global conservation organisations and countries in the world.
The Open University (OU) co-produced the highest rating television natural history science programme in the UK since 2001. Input from Dr Mark Brandon's research over the last 15 years shaped the subjects to be filmed, the science portrayed, and the narrative used in the series. The impact had reach and significance: 263,000 A0 polar maps containing research-level science were requested by the UK public, and the series provided a focal point that changed the public debate on polar climate change. This debate influenced the passage of the UK Antarctic Bill through the Houses of Parliament.
Work by University of Stirling staff has contributed directly to improved wildlife resource management in the Central African region. Innovative research into the status and trends of key wildlife populations, ecological impacts, resource harvests and trade, drivers of resource use and assessing management success have contributed directly to new thinking on the issue, revisions of laws and policy and to success in attracting foreign aid for management issues. Stirling staff members now advise the Government of Gabon on resource management policies, National Park management and biodiversity issues.
The Bumblebee Conservation Trust (BBCT), a conservation charity launched at the University of Stirling in 2006, was aimed at bridging the gap between research findings and conservation practice. BBCT now has 11 staff, offices and staff based in England, Wales and Scotland, 8,000 paying members, and has involved >12,000 people in bumblebee recording or conservation. Other impacts include awareness raising through extensive media coverage for bumblebee conservation, creation of an education pack for primary schools, joint initiatives with a nationwide Garden Centre chain (Wyevale) and a supermarket (Morrisons), helping to create >2,000 ha of flower rich habitat, involvement in a reintroduction attempt for the locally extinct short-haired bumblebee, political lobbying and influencing national and international policy.